366 Days....

When you look back on a year, it's amazing how much can happen in that span of time. Since we officially applied last summer to our agency, a lot of things have happened.....

*Another school year has passed

*Another year of work for Jared has passed

*We have fostered 5 dogs

*We lost Micky

*We gained Dexter

*Shannyn taught school virtually & survived to tell the tale

*We gained a nephew

*Our home saw improvements

*Our yards got a face lift

*We are living during a pandemic

*We have officially been waiting one year.

1 year

366 days (Thank you Leap Year)

8,784 hours

527,040 minutes

31,622,400 seconds

have passed, and not with out prayer, hopes and dreams. 

Did you know that the average family waits for 2 years before they are matched and welcome a child into their lives? So, being the realistic people that we are, while also holding onto to hope that our phones will ring any minute, we are settling into more waiting. 

While we settle into this, we want to ask you to join our journey with us! We got the idea from a friend, and thought that it was wonderful! 

We have purchased 2 puzzles....collies and goldens seemed very fitting. 

We are looking for your help to build these 2 puzzles! We are looking for people to join us in prayer & to join the journey financially if you feel called. There is nothing more difficult or humbling than asking for help from others. 

If you would like to join us spiritually through prayer, please fill out the Google Form, and we will place your name on the back of a Golden Retriever puzzle piece.  

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Z5dyx6R_6gyuLGCN0i8hdtdLr7vgSA9kEBEApZpFRMY/edit

If you would like to join the journey financially, at any amount, we will place your name on the back of  Collie puzzle piece.  

You can donate through our GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/baby-brinker

PayPal: jones.shannyn89@gmail.com

Venmo--Shannyn-Jones

Once we have filled all the pieces and they are built, they will get put in a double sided frame and hung in the nursery. Then we will be able to show this sweet child all of the people who prayed for them and joined their parents in this journey to them becoming a part of the family. 

Thank you in advance for your love & support! 

What Day is it Again?

Funny. I logged in to begin to compose a post today, and this one was saved, with simply the title.

It still rings true today though...as a search for a routine has begun again since school has ended. Falling into summer used to be easy. Begin the summer job and keep the same routine going. But, when summer is cancelled, you are left pulling at any string looking for a sense of normalcy...as we have been since March.

So much has happened at the Brinker House & in the world since I last posted in January that I feel several separate posts will have to make up for my lack of blogging...unless you just want to read a novel, which is not a horrible idea!

So, buckle in, keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times, and enjoy the ride!

Chapter 1--Wait, what? Work from home? 

When I last wrote, I was spending my days in Memphis with the BFF before her Baby Boy came. Just 2 teachers soaking up their Christmas Vacation, no thoughts of the work that awaited them upon their return. There was talk on the news of a virus spreading rapidly through China, and I was gearing up for a busy Spring Semester at work. Funny how the world changes in what feels like over-night. School began with us in full gear with lots of learning left to do, projects to partake in & a Field Trip to go on! January flew by and February creeped in like a sly fox. February seemed to never end. Maybe it was the leap day. Maybe it was the lack of a day off. Maybe it was just February being rude. But let's be real for a minute, it was the fact that Spring Break was looming every so close. Like that carrot dangled in front of the rabbit, and that is all anyone could focus on. I thought of it as motivation to get through the long days, my kiddos, they were just longing for another break and to hang out with their friends. Spring Fever was setting in. But, by golly, not only was February sly as a fox, but like a hurricane stewing and beginning to make landfall, Covid-19 was slowly encroaching on the US. February finally ended, and March showed up to the party...drunk. We made it through the first week, and had a blast counting down to Spring Break! But that Covid-19 Hurricane was getting ready to make landfall. 

On Friday, March 6, I laughed with my students in my classroom, prayed with them, in my classroom, taught them, in my classroom, played with my students, on the playground, and I wished them a wonderful break and promised to see them in a week. My calendar still feels stuck on March 6...the last day of normalcy. Then the eye made landfall. First, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo was cancelled. Then, we were told we were going to have one more week of Spring Break. Then...boom...out of school till May 4, and the city is shut down unless you are an essential worker.  It was like a massive punch to the gut. My first thought was my kiddos...do they understand what is happening? Are they okay? Then, how will we do this...

Off to school it was. We learned how to use the Google Classroom platform; packed up what we believed the kids would need from home, and made copies of anything they might need. It was a total whirlwind, and left my head spinning and my heart reeling with emotions. 

Let's pause for a minute, hop off, and have real talk for a hot second. The following is sentiment shared by a teacher on Facebook, and hits the nail right on the head. 

A teacher somewhere is packing up their classroom right now, mourning the class they never got to see to the end. The class they won’t get to see graduate. The class they won’t get to enjoy the beautiful spring weather with. The class who will no longer be able to sit and feel the suspense of a mystery read aloud. The class who won’t be able to sign yearbooks and make summer plans with friends. The class they never got to say goodbye to. The students they won’t get to hug anymore. The students they weren’t able to explain what was happening. The students they can no longer check in on every day due to technology deficits or little parental support. The students that shy away from face-to-face videoconferencing because they don’t understand why their world has been turned upside down and routines thrown out the window. The students whose only positive interactions and care were inside these four walls.

This hasn’t been easy. Lives have been immeasurably disrupted. Teachers have had to switch gears and create a classroom online and implement lessons in ways they’ve never had to before. Oftentimes spending more hours than they would in a normal workday. Heightened sadness, staggering stress, disenfranchised grief.

Stepping into these classrooms is overwhelming. It’s as if it was frozen in time. Weeks and months gone unchanged. Calendars still set on March, preparing for Spring Break. Projects left unfinished on the counters, crayons and glue sticks half-used, novels bookmarked halfway through, forgotten lunchboxes and coffee mugs; a time capsule.

As difficult as this is for you, know that teachers are grieving. They chose this profession because they love education and they love children. They’re dealing with a lot of adjustment and stress themselves. Packing up a classroom before the year is complete, feels alien. It is sad, it is frustrating, and it is hard.

Tonight, pray for a teacher.

There is no question that this time of quarantine was not just trying because I was stuck at home, but it was also a time of grieving what could have been...

Okay, hop back on! Buckle back up & hang on! Off we go...

I feel very blessed that all of my students had access to technology and the ability to meet with me every morning for live lessons. But, an hour filled with mini lessons does not fill that void. I was available all day for my students to call and ask questions. My afternoons were filled with checking assignments and providing feedback to the students, communicating with my parents, and getting online assignments ready for the next day. Hours began melting together, and work became an all day affair. Taking who you have planned and ready for in classroom and on the flip of a dime turning things into online assignments was no joke. It took up a lot of time. I am one who enjoys the distinction of home life vs work life, and during this time, the 2 were becoming one. That was one of the toughest parts. When your dinning room becomes your classroom, your world is rocked.

While this time was tough, it came to a bittersweet end seeing my kiddos on the Last Day of School; seeing my kids in person for the first time in 9 weeks. My teacher heart was happy and breaking at the same time. The year was ending, but felt so incomplete. It's one of the things that I love about teaching, a clear and cut beginning and ending to a year. This year, I'm still stuck on March 6...

My new "classroom" for the last quarter of school.

Chapter 2 Cancer Sucks.

During the second week of "Spring Break", our sweet Micky boy went in for extensive tests to try and piece together all of these weird symptoms that did not go together at all! He had been having trouble with a paw since October, which we thought was good after a minor surgery. XRays showed that infection had affected his bone, but no evidence of anything else...anywhere in his body. It never could get quite right...antibiotics would help for a time, pain meds would help for a time, steroids would help for a time...then he began to have other issues. I noticed that he was slowly losing weight, even though he had a hearty appetite and ate 2 meals a day. Then the sweet boy began having accidents while he was fully asleep. Then accidents when he was just lounging around, walking around, etc.. Urine test did not reveal any infection, so the next step was a massive brainstorm. I made a huge long list of things that I could not even pronounce half of the names. Dr. McIntyre made herself a list after reviewing all of the information that she had gathered through his visits. We merged lists, had a few that matched up, so she laid out what we would need to do as far as testing for each one. Well, cancer was on both of our lists, as much as we hated it. I decided to start there, convinced that he did not have cancer, my boy was just too young; I had not had enough time with him. To rule this out, he would need an ultrasound of his bladder/abdomen. I dropped off my boy, with his diaper bag, yes you read that right, he was wearing pee-bands/diapers, and prayed for the best. Y'all. They brought my boy back to me, and the sweet vet walked in the room, and she did not even have to say anything. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach and tears swelled in my eyes as she began to explain what was found on the ultrasound revealed that while his bladder was fine, my boy was terribly ill. It abdomen was riddled with cancer and he had fluid building up in his peritoneum. Fluid build up indicates that the cancer is very advanced.

I was told that I had maybe a few weeks at best left with my boy. My boy who came in and healed my heart when I believed that it was broken. My boy who never left my side. My boy who soaked up all of my tears. My boy who curled up in between Jared & I each night for cuddles. My boy who made all "right" in my world again. I could not believe that I was losing another baby. Another blow to the gut. When you cannot have children of your own, and while you wait patiently to be picked, your furry children are your children.

My boy was diagnosed on Wednesday and over the next 4 days, I watched him slide down the unstoppable slope. I knew that he was only going to get worse, and that it was not fair for him to suffer only because I was not ready to let him go. On Monday, we took in our boy and helped him to the Rainbow Bridge. The next day, virtual learning began.

Micky boy is resting easy now and doing all the running and jumping he wants. Losing a fur baby will never, never, never, never get easier or not suck, but when you have a vet who loves your furbabies as much as you do, it helps to ease some of the pain.

Micky on his way to what would be his last HCR event. 

Hey Micky, Hey Micky, Hey Micky you're so fine....

Chapter 3 How you doin'?

So no one told you life was gonna be this way

Your job's a joke, you're broke

Your love life's D.O.A

It's like you're always stuck in second gear

When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month

Or even your year, but

I'll be there for you

(When the rain starts to pour)

I'll be there for you

(Like I've been there before)

I'll be there for you

('Cause you're there for me too)

Let's take a look and see where we are...the middle of the Hurricane Covid-19...remote learning is in progress & our house is a little empty with the loss of the Mick. Well, what could help ease the pain and make being stuck at home a little bit sweeter....nothing other than puppies. Fuzzy, furry, little collie puppies. We were so blessed that these babies this year were are healthy! They just were not quite old enough to be on their own yet. We had these guys for about 3.5 weeks, then off to their furever homes they went! But not before we instilled a love for George Strait in them. Play Classical music to soothe them they said....bahahahaha. King George did the trick! 

So meet Joey...who did not share food; Phoebe who loved to "sing", and Chandler who was easy going. 

Puppies are good for the heart & soul! 

Who doesn't love a pile of puppies! Melt your heart into a puddle! 

We love to play outside and answering to "Puppy, puppy, puppy"! 

As you will see, this became their preferred method of sleeping. Tummy up & out....means they feel safe and secure where they are! 

Shelby is a good little Mama to the puppies. Chandler in particular was her shadow. 

Mom, look! It can hold me up while I sleep!

If this face doesn't put a smile on yours, then, well....

Phoebe was promoted to Assistant Cleaner! 

If you have been around for awhile, you will remember that we had puppies last summer too. We had a very sick puppy, Oreo, now Willy and Henry. These 2 boys got adopted together and went to just the best home ever! Oreo is on the left, Henry on the right. They are so big and so sweet....and they still remember us! We have gone to visit the boys & were greeted with so many kisses and cuddles.

The boys on their First Birthday! 

Chapter 4  Well, he's a big boy. 

Micky left a big hole in our family. While Bella seemed to be getting along well without her big brother, she was driving Shelby up a wall with all of the playing and horsing around that she does. Funny though, Shelby girl just joined right in. 

About the time we lost Micky, HCR got in a beautiful sibling pair, Lacey & Dexter.  Since they were siblings, I brushed off thinking about Dexter because I assumed he would be too bonded with his sister to separate. Dexter & Lacey were turned over to HCR after their owner passed away from cancer. 

Well,well, well after a couple weeks, it was determined that they were not an overly bonded pair and would do well apart as long as they had a playmate. So....I went and found a picture of him and sent it to Jared. He replied with, "Well, he's a big boy." Yes, yes he is! Dexter weighs in at just under 90 lbs. I have been told that this is how big a typical collie used to be, but they have been bread to be on the smaller side. 

He agreed that we could go meet him. Dexter put on a show....he is like a cat! He loves to wind between your legs, rub up against you, and lean on you. This sweet boy stole his way into our hearts. We loaded him up & headed home. 

Funny how you do not notice things until they begin to change. As Dexter settled in, so did the girls. They were no longer pacing about and worried about the front window. Bella began napping in her chair again. All things that I had noticed, but had not correlated to not having a male dog in the house. The girls need a protector, and Dexter quickly and quietly settled in as the King of his Kingdom. 

Happy Gotcha Day, Dexter! 

Dexter & Lacey as puppies. Their previous family shared some pics of them with us from their childhood. 

Queen Sadie Mae & King Dexter

Keeping watch over his kingdom. 

A Tri-Color, a Blue Merle & a Sable Collie walked into a bar....


Chapter 5  Waiting

We are still patiently waiting to get "the call." It will come in his time. We are coming up on the one year mark of officially being on the list. We will be getting our Home Study renewed soon, and we will continue with the waiting and prayers. While waiting is certainly not fun, we know that it is part of the process. 

We are keeping busy with work, fostering and projects around the house. We'll be ready when that call comes! 

Thank you for coming along on the ride. We hope you enjoyed it and will come back again! Until then, I'll be busy with several sewing projects and helping another foster with her puppies. Oh, and trying to keep track of what day it is! 

Life After Loss

I know that we have kind of gone silent over in our world, but trust me, all has not been calm, nor has it been silent.

We are still fostering Sadie Mae and have added sweet Sage as a foster as well. She loves us, but is still learning what life if like to be an inside dog, with a bed, and regular meals. Our sweet vet won over her heart with food, and now expects it (cough, cough, y'all started it)...and we took that cue and have showered her in what she would like since then. She was found roaming the streets with who believed to be her sister, Ivy. These girls spent their first weeks in rescue fighting infections...both inside and out. Now, we are putting on weight and getting strong to fight the yucky heart-worms. Once she has been treated, she will be available through Houston Collie Rescue.

This school year has been nothing short of keeping me on my toes all of the time!This year, I have 14 students, 10 of which are boys. The girls and I must rally together to make it through the day. This group has come a long way from where we began our year. I love my kids, and I miss the daily routine that school brings while on break. I am still teaching fourth grade & still pinching myself that I get to work at the best school ever! I could not be more blessed in that regard.

Jared is still working at the helpful hardware store. He enjoys his work. He is also itching to begin a reno project at our house. He has been working on lighting while I have been gone...who knows what he will do next.

This fall was characterized by so much more than our work and our fosters though. These were the last months that we had with Jared's beloved Uncle John.

Over the past 2 & a half years, Uncle John fought the good fight against mesothelioma.

Cancer is a horrid disease. There is no way around it. It picks its victims and then it shows no mercy. If you not receiving a treatment, you're getting a scan. If you're not sitting around waiting for a day full of appointments, you are getting news that you may or may not want to hear in appointments. If you are not having some kind of surgery, you are fighting some kind of complication. There never seems to be any rest for the weary...none of the weary in the village. Yes, I said village. No, we were not raising a kid (although some may beg to differ here?). It was a village of his family and friends that surrounded him and carried him through, and then those that rallied around his friends and family and carried them down the long and bumpy path.

Uncle John was our monthly house guest over the past 2 and a half years. He would stay with us whenever he had something going on down here. He always sent a text asking if his room was available; I guess he thought of us as a hotel. Maybe we should have cut back with the mint on the pillow and the homemade meals? I was responsible for replying to the text, to which he then always called Jared to make sure that he could really stay. Uncle John, I am the final say so, I think he was just being nice to Jared. The pups of course LOVED when we had a visitor; someone else to love them because mom and dad are just not enough. Did John love the pups, probably not. But that did not stop him from sitting on the couch with Shelby glued to his side, Micky resting next to her, and Bella on his lap. He also learned the hard way what happens when you do not close your door all the way in our house. Shelby & Bella become your roommates. Y'all, even when he did close his door, that is where they slept. I think this is where you can credit the dog's 6th sense and knowing that something more was going on...especially before he got his lovely machine that helps with snoring. Man, Micky would lose his mind when Uncle John stopped snoring...and wake us up!

My fridge always had more than 2 things of juice in it because he preferred something different every time that he came. I would swing by the store and buy some juice for him...then he would go get something else; every single time.

Uncle John was our baseball buddy....even if he rooted for the Red Sox. If they were in town playing our Astros, he would call us up with tickets & off we would go! There were a few select times that he rooted for Astros, but he could have talked baseball with us for hours. None the less, knew that you do not have to talk the entire baseball game, just being there with each other was enough. Maybe, as much as it may hurt, we just might have to root for the Red Sox once. But, only once.

This fall, was his big surgery, and after that, things were just never the same. My gut told me that we were coming towards the end of the battle. His days of staying with us sadly came to an end, and he was able to stay with his brother. We soaked up hospital visits, family dinners, and time with him whenever he was in town.

Shorty after Thanksgiving, he lost his battle. He is now resting easy...using every dish & not worried about the dishes as he cooks wonderful meals; enjoying the best seat in the house for his teams.

Sadly, death is something that is all to familiar, but every time it happens it shocks you. That someone you love and were talking to a few short days ago passes away.

Death seems to trap you in those few moments when someone has just passed and your mind is trying to process what is happening. You are stuck in a moment of time and cannot seem to keep moving.

What I have noticed is that death looks different for everyone who experiences it. It could probably be a whole post in and of itself.

So, what did Jared & I do? You keep on living, and you live your life to the fullest. John lived, and lived well. He believed in living life to the fullest. SO live. That is exactly what we will do.

We will love unconditionally.

We will foster.

Jared will work on house projects. 

I will bake. Bake all the things with all the dishes. 

We will take the puppies on play-dates. 

We will visit friends. 

We will throw showers for friends. 

We will spend time with our families. 

We will have family dinners.

We will take vacations. 

We will enjoy our jobs. 

We will wait, wait patiently. 

Death does not mean that life is over, and we stop in our tracks. We often let death put a pause button on our lives, when in reality, that is the last thing that our loved one would want us to do. John would not want us to stop living. Cancer certainly did not stop him from living, so death will have no hold over us. 

Grace & Gratitude

This summer, in the few moments before it truly began and my feet hit the ground running, I discovered Brene Brown. I had always seen people post quotes, articles, and reviews about her books, and I read those, but never dove into what she was really all about. Then, I watched her Netflix special, and I feel like my world was rocked. She is all about courage, vulnerability, bravery, and love. All of these things seem to encompass the season of life that we are in right now.

We are vulnerable. We have put ourselves, our dreams, our hopes, and our aspirations out there for the world, for a family, for a mom.

We are brave. We have entered into a world that it totally unknown. If there is a guide or manual somewhere for how we should be walking down this path, I wish someone would give it to us.

We are love. Every decision that we make as we travel this journey is one that is made out of love. Our joys, our anger, and our frustrations all come out of love.

“To love someone fiercely, to believe in something with your whole heart, to celebrate a fleeting moment in time, to fully engage in a life that doesn’t come with guarantees – these are risks that involve vulnerability and often pain. But, I’m learning that recognizing and leaning into the discomfort of vulnerability teaches us how to live with joy, gratitude and grace.” Brene Brown 

To travel this journey with us, one must understand that each move we make is carefully calculated before we even think about moving that pawn.

Each moves creates a more vulnerable us. A more vulnerable us comes with more pain, but also affords more opportunities to experience other things as well. 

We are constantly experiencing both grace and gratitude. 


The most common question that both us receive from those that we know is, "How is the adoption going?"  While we know that everyone who asks us only means well when they ask,  it is the one question that I have become to dread. It is almost like the, "When are you going to start a family?", that we received for years too. 


Well, adoption is all about waiting. You turn in all of your paperwork, family books, flyers, get certifications needed, complete your home-study; then, you wait. Wait for a mom to feel a connection to your little family and pick you.  I joked with Jared the other day that I feel like Meredith Grey yelling at McDreamy...Pick Me. Choose Me. Love Me. 


Each time we are asked though, it affords us such an opportunity to be showered in His grace and to share that grace with others. So, here is our answer to that oh so dreaded question....

We have physically done all that we can do. Our file with the agency is in order, and there are not any gaps. As we are asked for new things, we do our best to get those done & turned in. We continue with our adoption education, and get that updated in our file for the state as well. We are honestly just waiting. Waiting for HIS timing, and not ours. We know that all good things will happen in HIS time and not ours. This is something that is no longer in our hands, but fully and totally in HIS. Spiritually, we are never done. We pray every day for our Birth-Mother and her family; that this may be the right decision for her, and that she is at peace with the choice that she makes. We continue to pray the St. Joseph Novena every month, and do our best to squeeze in a couple rosaries each week. We are waiting, trusting, and praying. 

There is so much grace in sharing that our story is not in our hands, but in HIS. Helping others to realize that this story is no longer about us, but about HIM, and what HE has planned for us. 

And gratitude. Yes, gratitude. Even though I dread this question, it means that someone is thinking about you and your journey; that you are not alone in the path that you are walking down. While I may ache on the inside while I answer the question, I know that we are incredibly blessed that we have people in our lives who care enough to ask. 

We are continuing to learn so much about the vulnerability that comes with this journey. We lean in, and learn more. There is no handbook for how to walk this path and travel this journey. So bear with us when it takes a little longer to answer your questions, when we may not agree with an opinion, or we find it a little harder to attend a function. We are doing our best to walk down this path with grace.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/baby-brinker

Patience.

Patience. There is something about that word that can elicit both excitement & dread. Ask for patience they say, it will be given they say. Ha. It will be given in the form of an opportunity to practice.

Oh my goodness, I feel like all I do all day is practice patience. There must have been some line I missed when signing up to be a teacher that I would would one day become an expert in patience with all of the practice that I am given. Sad to say, I am still in the beginning stages. Patience comes with the job, but also a whole lot of grace & prayer.

Patience is asking a student to stop talking, for the 10th time in 20 minutes.

Patience is putting a smile on and greeting the student who walks in your room early instead of going to morning care.

Patience is asking a student to not climb on the chairs, again. 

Patience is talking about what school appropriate means, for the 3rd time in a day. 

Patience is getting sneezed on. 

Patience is being asked the same question, over and over again. 

Patience is a pup who is sick with a UTI so you are mopping the floors, again.

Patience is waiting on an important reply.

Patience is sitting in traffic because you left work a few minutes later than usual.

Patience is being far away from your best friend.

Patience is.....you fill in the blank. It may just be one of those days that everything is trying your patience; from not being able to get the alarm to turn off , to getting to bed too late, and everything in between. Those days come and they go. You think that you are doing so well, and you haven't lost your cool at all, and then, that one things happens, and it's gone. All gone. You lose every ounce of patience that you had & you seem to explode like a bottle of champagne being popped. Then, from that moment on nothing seems to go your way, or everything rubs you the wrong way. 

I would love to live in a world where patience is bottled, and you can just take a quick drink when you need some. It would be a magical drink & should come to you at no cost.  Wouldn't that be a lovely world? A world where no one lost their patience? A world where waiting was no big deal? sounds like a dream! 

My patience these days seems to be thin, as all of my patience is idly being used. Used without my even thinking about it, but all the while my mind is racing, hoping, praying, and waiting. 

Patience is waiting for your phone to ring. 

Patience is waiting to get the call that someone may be looking at you.

Patience is waiting for the call that you have potentially been matched. 

Patience is finding out that you have been matched.

Patience is waiting. 

And let me tell you, waiting, waiting might just be the worst test of patience that there is out there. We are officially waiting. Waiting to be picked, to be the ones, to be matched. We have all of our i's dotted and our t's crossed. Background checks done, home study done, books turned in, flyers turned in. If it was on the list, we have done it. Now, we wait.

Now we wait, patiently. Patiently waiting for our world to be rocked and turned upside down. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/baby-brinker

Small Things...Great Love

I promised a post about us fostering sweet pups, so here you go!

First, we have to travel back in time to adopting the boy (Ferris or Ferryman). When we adopted him, and his Mama Karen explained to us how far he had come, we knew that rescue pups were worth their weight in gold. There is also no dog more loving than one who has been rescued and showed what love is. I may ask her to share his story one day, because I will never be able to do that story its justice. I knew that one day, we would begin to foster for Houston Collie Rescue.

While Shelby was originally my sister's, but I went and stayed with her a whole lot, we adopted her right before we got married. She is a gem. This dog only knows what it means to love and be loved. A little snapshot of her personality. Shelby is a goober. She loves everyone, but especially Grandpa (Jared's Dad), Grandma (Jared's Grandma who lived with us for 10 months after Hurricane Harvey), and this girl loves her vet, Dr. McIntrye and all those sweet people who work with her. The most recent instance of this love of her vet knowing no bounds. We have come home & the puppies smelling like the vets office & Shelby would go pout when we got home. Well, sweet pea decided to pull the I will not eat and I'm gonna puke all night stunt (This was the beginning of Ferris being very ill & mama don't play games now). That got her a trip to the vet the next day. They found nothing wrong, and when we picked her up, her tail was wagging and she had a huge smile on her face (yes, a smile...go look up golden retrievers smiling). While she pulls stunts like this, she is also very well mannered. She waits for her invitation to come and cuddle next to you on the couch, and each night, sits by the bed, waiting to be invited to claim her spot next to me & the fan. She is the Queen, and we would not have it any other way. We don't think that she would either.

 Shelby's true personality, while Ferris looks on wondering what he has gotten himself into. 

Shelby tolerating the puppies. 

This would be Shelby's "Mom, another picture?" face. 

Ferris, his story is coming. It's worth the wait. :-) 

Our first foster came to us about a week before Hurricane Harvey. She was a sweet senior girl, Lady. She was HW+ and going through treatment, and had a mass on her side that needed to be removed. She had lived her life outside in LA chained to a fence. Her hair was dry and sun bleached. She was an angel! She had the best manners, and was a joy to have around. When she came to us, she was so intrigued that Shelby & Ferris would get on the couch. Sweet girl couldn't quite figure out the jumping thing to get up there for several months. She spent her days lounging around on the dog beds & getting loving. When we went to bed at night, she slept in the same spot all night long, at the foot of the bed on her dog bed. But y'all, this chick figured out how to jump on the couch, and she was pleased as a peach with herself. We came home to her laying on the couch with the biggest smile one evening.  She had officially "made it" with the others. From then on, she wanted to be on the couch with someone and they had to be petting her. We didn't mind either. She was with us until Veteran's Day. I cried letting this sweet girl go. She is living the best life with lots of puppy brothers, but she is the princess! We see her at the reunion picnic & the dog show too. She comes right up with a smile and kisses! She was our first, and most certainly would not be our last. I was hooked. I'm not sure that Jared took the bait, or that he enjoys it as much as I do, but, well....we all know how this goes....

Next up, our Foster Success, as Houston Collie Rescue calls it! Miss Bella, #1 Diva. Bella and her sister Nala were an owner relinquish to HCR. Their owners were older and could not handle the demands of 2 puppies. Bella came to us for 2 reasons from her first foster. One, she need to be separated from her sister, Bella was too dominant. Second, Bella is way too interested in cats and does not understand when a cats hisses or swings a paw at you, that you should probably walk away. Well, low and behold, that is her little (massive) personality. When she arrived, she was quite large & was put on the "Daddy Diet". She is nice and lean now! Bella is the first to go and greet anyone or anything new. She has no fear....until it thunders or the fireworks go off. She will let you know that she is there, and wants the attention. Ferris was her best friend and best playmate. When he passed, she suffered from severe separation anxiety. While the medication helped, she was just not the same dog. Bella does not just lay around. She is like the energizer bunny...wakes up & goes all day till bed time.  This is when Micky came into play. Bella also has a "boyfriend". Mama Karen's Luke is her sweetie pie. They play & play & talk when they get together. 

Here is Bella when she arrived with us. We celebrated her 1st Birthday 2 days after she came. 

After Bella, we took over a year off from fostering. We had many things going on and knew that we would not be able to provide a foster with the love and care that they needed.

Then, the time was right and we opened our home again to a sweet pup, who a friend rescued on her own, along with all of his litter mates. He had a horrible case of mange and was full of worms. He was a sweet little dude, named Albus. He is now with his perfect forever home!

Then, came the puppies. We got 4 puppies from HCR right after I finished school. We are talking, I finished, and the next day I went & picked them up. We had four babies, Charlie (now Stryder), Max (now Teddy), Henry (still Henry) and Oreo (now Willy). These sweet babies will forever have a place in my heart. When they arrived, they were too young to really even be away from their mom. Rescue can be heart-breaking. They needed check ups & shots. Initially, all checked out A-Ok! Charlie and Max never did get ill, and grew like weeds! Sweet Henry was diagnosed with a heart mummer. He was the runt of the litter and needed a little kick start gaining weight. He is now almost 24 pounds, and the last time he went for a check up, they could not hear his mummer! Sweet baby!

Well, our troubles were far from over. About a week after we had all the babies, sweet Oreo became very ill. While he was still eating, he was not gaining weight. Then within hours on Saturday, he began to be very sleepy, and before going to bed, we noticed he might have been walking funky. We woke up the next morning, he was walking like a 'drunk' puppy. I called Mama Karen and she came over. Within minutes, we were on our way to an emergency clinic. We had a horrible experience. The sweet boy was diagnosed with severe anemia and needed a blood transfusion. He was also diagnosed with hook worms, which explained why he was not gaining any weight. So, he was dewormed again. He was still exhibiting neurological symptoms, so off to Dr. McIntyre we went.  She is a thorough neurological exam on him, and recommended that he go to see a neurologist.  In the meantime, they were going to run a Distemper test (which takes days to come back). So off we were to Gulf Coast Vet Specialists with the little bug. They wanted to run further tests, so at only 8 weeks old, sweet boy had an MRI and Spinal Tap done. The next day, I received the call that baby boy had Meningitis, and only minutes later I got the phone call that his Distemper was positive. My heart absolutely broke.  His prognosis was grim, and no one was certain that he would make it or fully recover. So what does one do?  You love that baby with all you got. He got all the cuddles, attention, and love that we could give.

His siblings were adopted, and he needed to continue to get better. Well, 2 months later, our boy is home with his furever family, who also adopted sweet Henry. He is thriving and doing well. He is truly a miracle baby!

We had a few days off, and I picked up our next foster. Sadie Mae is 9 years young. She has a lot of weight to lose and some minor medical issues to take care of before she can be adopted.

We will continue to foster till we receive a baby. It is something that brings joy & allows us to provide a sweet baby with the love and care they need to go on to live a happily ever after.